Our view: Changing distracting habits

Tuesday

Oct 1, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Sometimes the act of taking notes is the most important part of the learning process. While we may refer to them later for needed information, just taking the notes and thus focusing our attention on the matter at hand often reinforces the message sufficiently to keep in in our memory.

Lake Sun Staff

Sometimes the act of taking notes is the most important part of the learning process. While we may refer to them later for needed information, just taking the notes and thus focusing our attention on the matter at hand often reinforces the message sufficiently to keep in in our memory.

That might be the very best part of our texting-while-driving editorial contest. If just one young person can have the message imprinted upon their thinking by the writing of such a piece, that will be a victory — perhaps a life-saving one. But more than that, we hope that reading the words of a peer in print urging them to stop texting while driving will impact a lot of young drivers and save some lives.

In this area we know first hand the danger and tragedy of texting while driving. A young man in a lake area community was sadly the first to be charged under a new law that makes distracted driving a crime for teens. Whatever he was texting when the crash occurred cost a man his life.

There are not 160 characters in any language that are worth a life. There is nothing that can be put in a text that will not wait until the car is not moving.

Texting while driving is one of the most distracting actions one can take. Studies show that talking to people in the car or on the phone distracts drivers sufficiently to create dangerous situations. How much more does hitting the keys and composing a message distract us?

Anyone who has spent more than five minutes in the pretense of a modern young person knows how ubiquitous texting is. It is the communication method of choice for millions.

That’s fine. It is a great invention, a convenient way to communicate and an important part of how we live today.

It must not be any part of how we drive.

We look forward to seeing what lake area young people have to say on this topic. Their thoughts will be the most important insight into this serious matter. We hope that the act of writing helps those who write and those who read what they write. We hope this contest can be one small part of changing habits and saving lives.

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